Cybersecurity researchers have identified malicious npm packages impersonating the Nomic Foundation's Hardhat tool, aimed at stealing sensitive developer data like private keys and mnemonics. These counterfeit packages exploit the Hardhat environment to exfiltrate information to attacker-controlled servers. Additionally, other fake libraries across npm, PyPI, and RubyGems have been found using out-of-band application security testing tools to gather sensitive data, highlighting the growing complexity and risks within the npm ecosystem.
